Instructional materials matter and looking closely at the materials you use in your classrooms is important. Every Ohio student deserves the opportunity to learn from high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials to become a resilient, lifelong learner who contributes to society.
Studies have shown that using high-quality, coherent curriculums and instructional materials leads to student growth in learning and achievement. We also know that students gain months of learning when teachers use high-quality instructional materials.
While securing coherent curriculum and professional development for teachers is the first step in ensuring equity in Ohio’s classrooms, identifying high-quality supplemental materials at grade level for all learners can be helpful in increasing student engagement, meeting diverse needs, and filling instructional gaps.
For more than 20 years, INFOhio has been providing Ohio schools and districts with quality supplemental resources available at no cost. INFOhio’s resources provide educators and students with premium, vetted content such as eBooks, videos, lesson plans, instructional web tools, and training and support materials that can be used for teaching and learning. When paired with a high-quality curriculum, these resources can provide additional engaging and innovative materials for student growth and achievement and can scaffold student learning if there are gaps.
While the criteria for high-quality instructional materials is broad, key indicators can be applied to materials to determine their effectiveness for student learning. For this Teach With INFOhio blog series, the premium content provided by INFOhio will be shared, highlighted by its
These are the categories of criteria for the Instructional Materials Rubric, developed by INFOhio's Instructional Team in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Education. EdReports' and Achieve's EQuIP rubrics were models for this tool. You can feel secure knowing that using the instructional materials from INFOhio will provide students with the quality materials they need to be successful and grow as learners.
INFOhio is excited to license and purchase new resources and expand features with previously licensed resources offering Ohio parents, educators, and students access to quality content. The Learn360 Video Collection is one of these newly acquired resources.
The Learn360 Video Collection offers more than 1700 quality videos, aligned with the Ohio Learning Standards for Grades 6-12. These videos have also been added to INFOhio's Digital Video Collection (DVC) which includes more than 5,000 educational streaming videos that are segmented and downloadable. Most videos in the DVC also include teacher guides and related websites.
Educators can feel secure in using the Learn360 Video Collection and the DVC for quality content to supplement curriculums and scaffold learning. Videos and features meet the criteria set by the Instructional Materials Rubric and support rigor and acceleration in classrooms.
Using the rubric's individual criterion and applying its indicators to instructional materials can help determine the best content to use with students. Read more about how the Learn360 Video Collection and the DVC align with the criteria and indicators for quality materials.
These criteria and indicators help educators identify instructional materials that are aligned with the rigor of Ohio's Learning Standards and rely on research and scientific thinking for best results in the classroom.
Uses Technology and Media to Deepen Learning and Engage Students
In the Learn360 Video Collection and the DVC, technology enables students to have control over their learning. Students are able to browse videos and make their own choices on what they want to learn more about. With the ability to pause, rewind, and stop the video, students can also watch at their own pace.
Content Includes Options for Differentiation to Meet Needs of All Learners
In the DVC, videos can be filtered by Grade Level, Closed Captioned, and Language providing flexibility in cognitive capability and supports for complex grade-level content.
In the Learn360 Video Collection, videos can be filtered by grade level, subject, format, language, type, producer, and copyright. The filters in the Learn360 Video Collection are featured at the top of the homepage of the resource.
There are additional filters in the Learn360 Video Collection when in Advanced Search. These filters limit results to show recently added or downloadable videos as well as those with closed captions, audio description, educator resources, and interactive transcripts.
Open a video in the DVC or Learn360 to see the video segments. Teachers can assign specific segments or the full video for students to watch.
Videos or video segments from the DVC can be shared through Google Classroom. If you do not use Google Classroom, another way to share the videos in INFOhio's DVC is to copy and paste the URL in the address bar of your browser or you can use the embed code to share it in any learning management system.
Instructional Approaches Used are Reflective of Best Practices and Research on What Works in Education
To find Learn360 videos aligned to Ohio's Learning Standards, use the Browse Standards feature. This specialized tool allows educators to search by standard to find the videos that align with the content they are teaching.
For example, there are two videos to support Ohio's Learning Standards for Science for 7th grade 7.ESS.1, The hydrologic cycle illustrates the changing states of water as it moves through the lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.
Videos from the DVC and Learn360 could be easily shared by the educator in a whole-group setting by projecting the video on a screen or in individual or small-group settings for instructional purposes.
Inclusive teaching emphasizes the strategies and practices educators can use in the classroom to leverage the strengths and tools students of color bring for learning. The criteria and indicators for this category focus on how instructional materials recognize, define, and contribute to the growth and understanding of these strengths.
Content Cultivates an Awareness and Acceptance of a Variety of Ages, Cultures, Races, Religions, and Gender Roles and Identities
Many of the series available in Learn360 and the DVC represent many cultures, races, religions, and genders providing an opportunity for students to see themselves in the content. These series include A History of Civil Rights in America, and A History of Equal Rights in America. Doing a keyword search for any of these series' titles will populate them in the search results. There are also DVC Playlists specifically created for current teaching topics including Black History Month, English Language Learners, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Native Americans.
Pictured below are the video titles from the Martin Luther King, Jr. playlist.
These nonfiction videos use multiple perspectives in text and examples. Educators can share videos that provide all students with the opportunity to read more about people, places, and cultures both like and unlike themselves, broadening knowledge and understanding.
The criteria and indicators for this category ensure that instructional materials provide students and educators with what they need for learning in any form—in person, hybrid, blended, or remote.
Materials are Flexible to Allow Students to Access and Complete Work Online or Offline as Needed
The supporting materials in the DVC for each video can be downloaded and/or saved to be accessed offline.
In this Rocks and the Rock Cycle video from the DVC, there is a downloadable Teacher's Guide and each segment of the video can be downloaded for use offline. Notice also that the full video, as well as individual segments of the video can be shared with students through Google Classroom.
Pictured below is an activity on weathering and erosion that is included in the Teacher's Guide for the Rocks and the Rock Cycle video.
Teacher Supports, Documentation, and/or Guides for Effective Use are Present
The DVC provides educators with guides, supporting instructional materials, and methods available to use in different delivery modes. Most titles include a lesson plan or teacher's guide that can be downloaded for offline use, as seen above. In addition, some videos include related websites to support each video. Here is an example from the video Beginning Balance: Financial Literacy - Budgeting, which includes three different related websites to learn more about the topic.
For additional training and support, INFOhio has created information pages for each resource. Click the INFOhio "i" button before opening the DVC to find supporting materials.
On INFOhio's information page for the DVC, digital teacher guides, examples, and/or templates are available for the materials to use in different delivery modes. In the Training & Support materials, a Getting Started with INFOhio's Digital Video Collection guide is available.
High-quality instructional materials are accessible. These criteria and indicators will help determine how well materials meet the needs of all learners.
Materials follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Most videos include captions or transcripts allowing users to read along while the video plays.
The Visual Design of Materials is Clean and Coherent, Lending Itself to Ease of Learning
Videos from Learn360 and the DVC show the videos on their own platforms. This reduces or eliminates unnecessary distractions and extraneous information like advertisements or pop-up information that would appear when watching videos on the web.
Sharing segments of videos with students helps to successfully "chunk" information into smaller elements where possible. Specific segments can be shared with students or the full video.
The playback speed can be adjusted to faster or slower to accommodate the needs of all learners. Also, the video can be changed to full screen further eliminating distractions.
INFOhio's Digital Video Collection is intended for use by students in grades K-12 and the Learn360 Video Collection is intended for the 6-12 audience. These resources contain content to support content areas across the curriculum. Try the quality instructional materials available at no cost in your classroom. Be sure to share how #INFOhioWorks for you on social media.
Sarah Mowery is a Professional Instructional Specialist with INFOhio. She has worked in education for 16 years as a school librarian and technology coach in elementary and middle school settings. While in these roles, she's been an integral part of the building leadership teams working as a curriculum connector and integrating web-based tools. She earned a BA in Sociology from Bowling Green State University and an MLS with a specialization in PK-12 schools from East Carolina University. Sarah was one of the original INFOhio ICoaches when the program first began in 2013 and has a passion for sharing how INFOhio resources can transform teaching and impact learning for students and educators across the state of Ohio.
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